Schaefermods3 ppt ch02 (2)
- 1. Sociological Research 2 3rd edition Copyright © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education. Sociology in Modules Richard T. Schaefer
- 2. Slide 2 Copyright © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education. What Is the Scientific Method? • Scientific method: a systematic, organized series of steps that ensures maximum objectivity and consistency in researching a problem – Defining the problem – Reviewing the literature – Formulating the hypothesis – Selecting the research design and collecting and analyzing data – Developing the conclusion
- 3. Slide 3 Copyright © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education. Defining the Problem • Operational definition: explanation of an abstract concept that is specific enough to allow researchers to assess the concept
- 4. Slide 4 Copyright © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education. Reviewing the Literature • Literature reviewed is relevant scholarly studies and information – Refine the problem – Clarify possible techniques for collecting data – Eliminate or reduce avoidable mistakes
- 5. Slide 5 Copyright © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education. Formulating the Hypothesis • Hypothesis: speculative statement about the relationship between two or more factors known as variables • Variable: measurable trait or characteristic subject to change under different conditions – Independent variable: variable hypothesized to cause or influence another – Dependent variable: action depends on influence of the independent variable
- 6. Slide 6 Copyright © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education. Formulating the Hypothesis • Causal logic: involves relationships between a condition or variable and a particular consequence, with one event leading to the other • Correlation: exists when change in one variable coincides with change in another – Correlation does not necessarily indicate causation
- 7. Slide 7 Copyright © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education. Collecting and Analyzing Data • Selecting the Sample – Sample: selection from a larger population that is statistically typical of that population – Random sample: when every member of a population has the same chance of being selected – Snowball or convenience samples: participants recruited through word of mouth or by posting notices on the Internet
- 8. Slide 8 Copyright © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education. Collecting and Analyzing Data • Ensuring Validity and Reliability – Validity: degree to which the measure reflects the phenomenon being studied – Reliability: extent to which the measure provides consistent results
- 9. Slide 9 Copyright © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education. Developing the Conclusion • Supporting Hypotheses – Sociological studies do not always generate data that support original hypothesis • Controlling for Other Factors – Control variable: factor held constant to test the impact of the independent variable
- 10. Slide 10 Copyright © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education. In Summary: The Scientific Method • Defining the problem • Reviewing the literature • Formulating a hypothesis • Collecting and analyzing data • Developing the conclusion
- 11. Slide 11 Copyright © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education. Figure 5-1: The Scientific Method
- 12. Slide 12 Copyright © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education. Figure 5-2: Educational Level and Household Income in the United States
- 13. Slide 13 Copyright © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education. Figure 5-3: Causal Logic
- 14. Slide 14 Copyright © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education. Figure 5-4: Impact of a College Education on Income
- 15. Slide 15 Copyright © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education. Major Research Designs • Research design: detailed plan or method for obtaining data scientifically – Surveys – Ethnography – Experiments – Existing sources
- 16. Slide 16 Copyright © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education. Surveys • Survey: study that provides sociologists with information about how people act or think – Interview: researcher obtains information through face-to-face or telephone questioning – Questionnaire: researcher uses printed or written form to obtain information from respondent
- 17. Slide 17 Copyright © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education. Surveys • Quantitative research: collects and reports data primarily in numerical form • Qualitative research: relies on what is seen in field and naturalistic settings; often focuses on small groups and communities
- 18. Slide 18 Copyright © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education. Table 6-1: Top Reasons Why Men and Women Had Sex
- 19. Slide 19 Copyright © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education. Ethnography • Collecting information through direct participation and/or by closely watching a group or community – Ethnography: efforts to describe an entire social setting through extended systematic observation – Observation: sociologist joins group to get accurate sense of how it operates; the basic technique of ethnography
- 20. Slide 20 Copyright © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education. Experiments • Experiment: artificially created situation that allows researcher(s) to manipulate variables – Experimental group: exposed to independent variable – Control group: not exposed to independent variable – Hawthorne effect: unintended influence of observers or experiments on subjects
- 21. Slide 21 Copyright © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education. Use of Existing Sources • Secondary analysis: research techniques that make use of previously collected and publicly accessible information and data • Content analysis: systematic coding and objective recording of data, guided by some rationale
- 22. Slide 22 Copyright © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education. Table 6-2: Existing Sources Used In Sociological Research
- 23. Slide 23 Copyright © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education. Table 6-3: Major Research Designs
- 24. Slide 24 Copyright © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education. Ethics of Research • Code of Ethics (ASA, 1997) – Maintain objectivity and integrity in research – Respect subjects’ right to privacy and dignity – Protect subjects from personal harm – Preserve confidentiality – Seek informed consent – Acknowledge collaboration and assistance – Disclose sources of financial support (1999)
- 25. Slide 25 Copyright © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education. Confidentiality • Rik Scarce: doctoral candidate in sociology, jailed for refusing to divulge what he knew about a 1991 raid on a university lab by animal rights activists
- 26. Slide 26 Copyright © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education. Conflict of Interest • Money given in support of basic research can come with strings attached • Example: Exxon Corporation’s support for research on jury verdicts
- 27. Slide 27 Copyright © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education. Value Neutrality • Investigators have ethical obligation to accept research findings even when the data run counter to their personal views, to theoretically based explanations, or to widely accepted beliefs
- 28. Slide 28 Copyright © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education. Developments of Methodology • Feminist Methodology – Feminist perspective had a great impact on current generation of researchers • See work and family as closely integrated • Recently interested in self-injury • Other studies tend to overlook women • New impact on global research • Tend to involve and consult subjects more than other researchers
- 29. Slide 29 Copyright © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education. Queer Theory and Methodology • Queer theorists challenge the sexual orientation generalizations inherent to much research – “Veiled reporting” technique may result in underreporting of gays and lesbians in research due to wording of survey or interview questions and the manner in which they are asked
- 30. Slide 30 Copyright © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education. The Data-Rich Future • Massive increases in available data allow sociologists to undertake new research – H1N1 flu strain – Crime patterns – Increased data raises concern about individual privacy
- 31. Slide 31 Copyright © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education. Figure 8-1: Seeing Boston’s Housing Issues
- 32. Slide 32 Copyright © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education. Social Policy and Sociological Research: Studying Human Sexuality • Looking at the Issue – Important to increase scientific understanding of human sexuality • Privacy concerns • Preconceptions • Myths • Beliefs – Many people oppose research on human sexuality
- 33. Slide 33 Copyright © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education. Social Policy and Sociological Research: Studying Human Sexuality • Applying Sociology – Little reliable national data on patterns of sexual behavior in U.S. – Government funding for studies of sexual behavior is controversial – Federal government is major source of funding for sociological research – Weber’s ideal of value neutrality: sociologists must remain free to reveal information that is embarrassing or supportive of government institutions
- 34. Slide 34 Copyright © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education. Social Policy and Sociological Research: Studying Human Sexuality • Initiating Policy – Sociologists developed the National Health and Social Life Survey (NHSLS) to better understand sexual practices of adults in U.S. • Private funding • NHSLS data allow interest groups to address public policy issues
- 35. Slide 35 Copyright © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education. Figure 8-2: Median Age of First Sex
- 36. Slide 36 Copyright © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education. 6-1: Surveying Cell Phone Users – Are you a cell phone-only user? If so, do you generally accept calls from unknown numbers? What problems might result from excluding cell phone-only users from survey research? – Which of the problems that arise during telephone surveys might also arise during Internet surveys? Might Internet surveys involve some unique problems? Our Wired World
- 37. Slide 37 Copyright © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education. 6-2: Gender Messages in Scouting – Did you participate in scouting as a child? If so, were you aware of the gender messages you were receiving as part of the scouting experience? How did you react? – If you were a Scout leader yourself, what kind of gender model would you attempt to be? How would you become that kind of model? Research Today
- 38. Slide 38 Copyright © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education. 8-1: Lying for Love Online – Have you tried using an online dating service? If so, were you truthful in describing yourself online? Did the people you were matched with turn out to be truthful? – Why do you think online daters engage in deception if they are hoping eventually to meet someone face-to-face? Our Wired World
- 39. Slide 39 Copyright © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education. Dave Eberbach, Associate Director, Iowa Institute for Community Alliances – Do you know what you want to be doing 10 years from now? If so, how might a knowledge of statistics help you in your future occupation? – What kinds of statistics, specifically, might you find in the Human Service Planning Alliance’s data warehouse? Where would they come from? Taking Sociology to Work
- 40. Slide 40 Copyright © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education. Appendix I: Using Statistics and Graphs • Using Statistics – Percentage: shows portion of 100 – Mean: average; sum of a series of values divided by the number of values – Mode: single most common value in a series of values – Median: midpoint that divides a series of values into two groups with equal numbers of values
- 41. Slide 41 Copyright © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education. Appendix I: Using Statistics and Graphs • Reading Graphs – Tables and figures allow social scientists to display data and make it easier to develop conclusions • Cross-tabulation: shows relationship between two or more variables • Graphs are often easier for public to understand
- 42. Slide 42 Copyright © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education. Figure A-2: Changing Attitudes Toward the Legalization of Marijuana
- 43. Slide 43 Copyright © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education. Figure A-3: People Who Favor Legalization of Marijuana by Political Affiliation and Age
- 44. Slide 44 Copyright © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education. Appendix II: Writing a Research Report • Finding Information – Check textbooks – Use library catalog – Use computerized periodical indexes – Examine government documents – Use newspapers – Ask people, organizations, and agencies – Consult instructor
- 45. Slide 45 Copyright © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education. Appendix II: Writing a Research Report • Writing the Report – Focus on topic – Develop an outline – Work ahead of deadline – Read paper aloud – Must cite all references